OnTheWayOut

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Posts by OnTheWayOut

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  24

  Hours will be going up

  by pbrow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just got done watching parts of the october episode at jdub.broadcasting and it looks like the definition of "sacred service" is getting an update.

  construction work, helping out fellow dubs, even helping out non-beliebers and opposers will soon be adding up to record progress for publishers... gett ready for a huge increase in hours being reported.... can you hear it now??

  my how jw.org provides.... pbrow.

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  OnTheWayOut

  So many pioneers and others are so used to saying, "Sorry, I can't help you move" or "Sorry, I can't take an elderly sister to her medical appointment" with the excuse: "....because I have to get my time in."

  I know Ray Franz tried to indicate that sacred service included good works toward others and it was shot down because Watchtower was still building a massive printing empire and didn't want members to skip selling magazines to do something more important.

  I would say that literature give-aways are becoming such a burden now, with the dubs not really donating for them much, that the cart witnessing without bothering people still isn't enough. They actually do not want too many magazines/books to go out the door. So allowing other things to "count time" on will further reduce the efforts to give away Watchtower mags.

  I think that maybe the only reason they don't stop literature distribution is that it is the main method they use to control the members' activities- make them "publishers" and "pioneers." Taking that away would just be too radical a change for the members to swallow.

  I see this as another sign that they are in true money trouble, not just pretending. But I also consider that part of their money problem might have included moving massive amounts to offshore accounts as a golden parachute for the lawyers, accountants, Governing Body members.
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  21

  What's with all the pyramids??

  by Crazyguy in

  1. social
  2. current

  the number of pyramids in the world just keep going up and up.

  an egyptoligist thinks using satellite scanning technology he has found the remnants of another 17 pyramids in the egypt.

  in central and south american they keep finding more pyramids and in java a couple of years ago they surmised that the riuns their was actually a step pyramid possible the oldest in the world.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Pyramids in different parts of the world differ from each other but generally have 4 (or 3) sides and have a wide base and a peak in the middle. Regardless of what ancient alien astronaut theorists (actual term) say, I think we will find that this style of building was easier for ancient people to go higher with.

  Early skyscrapers were made of massive concrete bases. They didn't appear massive because the building did not get narrow significantly as it went up, but the base was thick, doorways would reveal several feet in the wall. As time went by, the use of steel allowed the base to be no thicker than the rest of the building. But in ancient times, the same heavy material was used all the way up, so all they really knew was to start with a huge base and to get smaller the higher up they went.
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  21

  Do they notice who no longer gives donations?

  by onightdivine in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  because i haven't put in a single dime for over a year now in the box at the kh.

  the usual custom is to put money in there right after the meetings.

  but heck, i already spend so much in car fuel just to attend - i don't care really if the gb starves and dies.. oops.. anyway, do the elders take note who's donating and who's not?.

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  OnTheWayOut

  It's typically more the case where they notice who DOES donate rather than who does not donate. And again, it's really the accounts servant who is supposed to have a general idea and nobody else. Even if they do have an idea, it's supposed to be anonymous and they will never say anything to you about it. Don't worry at all about the money thing.
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  94

  What other Shenanigans can we expect to see in the next 2 years?

  by John Aquila in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  its been a little over 2 years since i left the watchtower.

  in that time the magazines have been cut, the birth of jwtv, jw-org.

  carts for preaching, removed district overseers, cut assemblies, demand all the money from the congregations, stop construction and layoff bethelites, change the format of the tmschool .

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  OnTheWayOut

  J.A., you've left in exciting times. I wouldn't be surprised if the building work actually does get underway, but in a shell game of sorts- close 4 or 5 Kingdom Halls on valuable properties to open 1 new Kingdom Hall for all of them. That way, they can focus on the preaching work since there are so many to mow the lawn and less maintenance on a new building in a rough part of town.
  
  Expect AWAKE to go away or go 100% digital, maybe WATCHTOWER too. Conventions will be smaller and crammed into Assembly Halls way more than before. Expect Friday sessions to end (if they haven't already). Maybe they will start charging $3 to park a car at Assembly Halls and say you should NOT carpool to save money. Expect them to ask people to bring toilet paper to the Assembly Hall and take every single piece of food trash away with them instead of throwing it out there.
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  225

  Cult or Religion

  by Richard C B in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what is a cult and what is a religion?

  its open to debate.

  who has the authority to say for certain what is a cult and what is a religion?

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  OnTheWayOut

  While I tend to agree with the likes of Dawkins or Hitchens that all religion is damaging and potentially dangerous, your question leads us to modern terms. In modern society, whether they know it or not, the people want their religion to make them feel good while they do what they want. Sit in a pew on Sunday and whatever you did on Friday and Saturday night is forgotten. Confess something serious to the priest and do your "Hail Mary's."

  In modern society, the higher the control your group has on you, the more it would be defined as a cult. Mary Kay can be defined as a sales cult and may be worse for members than Jehovah's Witnesses (but I doubt that last part). Fundy groups and meditation groups and even exercise groups can be cults. Some of it is good- Alcoholics Anonymous is very cult-like, but in most of these non-religious groups, the members are free to take just parts of it and leave the rest. Not so in JW's and not so in some other religions. But the average Christian or Muslim can think for himself and reject the extremes of their group.

  So it isn't an easy question. Who is a cult, and who is not? To be safe, I would assume all religion is cult and proceed with caution.
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  8

  Beliefs

  by Stephanie Twist in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  who do you believe jesus is?

  is he superior to micheal the angel?

  bible verses.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Jesus is a fictional character along the lines of Mithra or Zoroaster or Dionysus. Having such a character as a minor god or son-of-god was all the rage in the first and second century. It is highly possible that Jesus was known to be fictional but was a figurehead of hope and change that Paul and James preached in their efforts to make a living and to spread hope to the hopeless.

  Sometime after Paul had passed on, Jesus may have seemed like a good example of passiveness so the Romans may have pushed for adopting Jesus as "real" instead of "fictional" in order to cause people to be less aggressive toward Roman rule. The stories about Jesus were written and set in the past before the fall of the temple, making it easy for him to prophesy about that fall of the temple.
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  3

  Watchtower

  by Stephanie Twist in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  what is the watchtower?

  why do kingdom halls think it is important to go over a session during the services?

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  OnTheWayOut

  The Watchtower is the primary literature from the rulers of Jehovah's Witnesses. According to the rulers, "The Watchtower shows us the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news of God’s Kingdom and promotes faith in Jesus Christ." They also say "The purpose of The Watchtower is to explain Bible teachings—and particularly what the Scriptures say about God’s Kingdom." In reality, the magazine explains the Bible in a way that suits the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses and uses excerpts from the Bible to say whatever they want to print in the magazines.

  It is the main way that they change and announce their doctrines to people. Once a new doctrine is printed and studied at the Kingdom Halls, all of Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to accept the change without question. The same article is covered via Question & Answer by every congregation every weekend. No congregation does what it wants, but always follows an approved study schedule from the rulers. The half-hour talk that precedes the study of the magazine will be different at each Kingdom Hall, but the talk is still from a Watchtower-Corporation-Approved outline.

  
  
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  81

  WT Society SEC Records : Hedge Funds, Cayman Islands, Financial Losses - Links

  by flipper in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  so my wife and i were curious so i researched some financial links and found records indicating that the wt society has been operating at a loss since the year 2012. as you read the links it shows a loss of 10 million $$$ in 2012, about 16 million $$$ in 2013, and a whopping loss of 56 million $$$ in 2014 - where the expenditures exceeded the revenues for each of those years in the amount i've mentioned.

  also there is a link on this same website with the sec records indicating that the wt society and it's representatives funneled 40 million $$$$ into hedge funds in the cayman islands as early as 2007. if you look online on other sites you can see evidence that indicates the wt society attended hedge fund conferences to look into more shadiness in 2011 and isn't it curious that by 2012 the wt society started showing losses.

  anyway here is the link : https://www.watchtowerlies.com/the_watchtower_revenue.html .. feel free to check this link out and other links on that link indicating the cayman island connection.

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  OnTheWayOut

  Flipper wants to apologize for not return replying to the individual comments like he typically does. He says his computer is broken again and it may be a week or more before he gets back on here. So thanks all, he says.
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  7

  Have they announced the new meeting arrangement yet?

  by JimmyPage in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was thinking it will be at the midweek meeting and not today.

  is that correct?

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  OnTheWayOut

  They have some full meeting example on video for how the thing will go. I could never bring myself to watch a complete meeting, but it's there.
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  138

  My Mother Died Two Weeks Ago

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  none of my jehovah's witness relatives called to tell me or my family.

  just found out this morning.

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  OnTheWayOut

  So sorry to read of your loss and your family lack of communications.